UIS professor honored for class that credits military experience

By A. Marie BallCorrespondent

Friday

Jan 17, 2014 at 10:48 PMJan 17, 2014 at 10:48 PM

Kevin Beeson has been honored for his Credit for Prior Learning Military Studies course at UIS. The 16-week online course allows students with a military background to obtain up to 16 credit hours by discussing their experiences in the service.

Since the end of December, Kevin Beeson has received at least one phone call or email daily asking the same type of question.

University of Illinois Springfield’s spring semester starts Tuesday, and students are eager to learn how to sign up for Beeson’s Credit for Prior Learning Military Studies course.

“Usually the week before, and of, classes, it goes crazy,” said Beeson, 50, visiting clinical professor in UIS’ Internship and Prior Learning Program. He added that the week of classes, there would probably be students “out the door.”

The course was first offered last summer with 14 students.

Since an article was published in The State Journal-Register last spring, students and other universities have expressed interest in Beeson’s innovative course.

And due to its online nature, the attention has extended well beyond Springfield.

On Tuesday, Beeson was awarded the U.S. Department of Defense and Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Patriot Award in recognition of his efforts. It was presented to Beeson by one of his students and the person who nominated him, Army Master Sgt. Anthony O’Neal, a UIS senior majoring in liberal and integrative studies.

“UIS in total is very supportive of the veterans, but when Kevin came to me and wanted to do something extra, I thought, ‘That’s a true patriot,’” O’Neal, 42, said. “Someone who wants to help veterans and do something extra, that’s someone who deserves the award.”

‘A little different’

Beeson has traveled the country speaking at conventions and conferences about the class. He has found that some universities offer similar programs for members of the military. For those that don’t, Beeson has worked to help them create their own.

“A lot of nontraditional students have already done so much in their life, and they don’t want to be in classes with freshmen and sophomores who are 18 or 19 years old,” Beeson said. “This course allows them to use their life experiences to write a portfolio, get college credit, and then they can waive something like speech or English.”

Beeson’s 16-week online course allows UIS students with a background from any of the five branches of the military to obtain up to 16 credit hours by discussing their military experiences. The “classroom” is the online program Blackboard Learn, where students are required to participate in weekly discussions about military-related topics, including current events. By the end of the course, students must submit a portfolio that details a specific aspect of their military career.

The class itself is worth four credit hours, but students can either retake the course three times or create up to three more portfolios for additional credit without paying extra.

Participating students can be found all over the world, with some on active duty in Kuwait and Afghanistan and others in Illinois.

“It’s a little different than the traditional classroom,” Beeson said.

Spreading the credit

Stan Zielinski, an ESGR volunteer representative who served with the National Guard from 1957 to 1963, is currently majoring in liberal studies with an emphasis on education. He took Beeson’s course in its first semester.

“Kevin has shown himself to be a true patriot by undertaking a project totally foreign to him,” Zielinski said in an email. “From the beginning, the program has been updated and has grown to what it is today and has become a very popular and acceptable studies program by military service members.”

Beeson says the accolades should go to those who helped him develop the course, including O’Neal, state Rep. Wayne Rosenthal, Desert Storm veteran and pastor Allen Ebbler, and Illinois National Guard chaplain Steve Foster.

O’Neal, who took the course twice while he was on active duty in Cuba for nine months, will now act as an adviser in the discussion part of the class. Ebbler, 53, who lives in Chandlerville, will also be available as a resource for any student who has questions. He called the class an “open door” to ease veterans back into civilian life.

“It’s really shocking, especially for those who are used to being in combat,” Ebbler said. “It really just takes time to adjust to the fact that you’re not in a dangerous situation all the time.”

In his classes, Beeson has noticed that the similar experiences his students share have brought them together in ways that are “unheard of for an online class.” For instance, in one of O’Neal’s classes, the students decided to meet one another at a firing range in Chicago. One student came from California.

As to what’s next, Beeson is eyeing another group that sometimes struggles to assimilate.

Next fall, he plans to start offering a course specifically for international students who are struggling with English.

A Marie Ball can be reached through the metro desk at 788-1517.

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